Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a device for auscultation of a body. An embodiment of the device includes a housing dimensioned and configured for disposition in an operative orientation relative to a predetermined portion of the body, the housing having a plurality of chambers disposed therewithin, the housing also being surrounded by a concentric structure.
Description of the Related Art
Auscultation, or the term for listening to the internal sounds of a body, is of great importance to many disciplines, such as the medical fields. For example, auscultation of a body, such as the body of a patient, assists a medical professional in the diagnosis of ailments that may affect the patient. Such may be traditionally achieved with a stethoscope, which may use a wide bell and/or a diaphragm to listen to a narrow range of low frequency acoustic signals, such as those associated with patient's heartbeat. However, such approaches are fundamentally inadequate for many other diagnostic purposes, such as receiving acoustic signals associated with higher frequency signals.
Accordingly, what is needed in the art is a device structured to receive acoustic signals in a wider band of frequencies, including but not limited to high-frequency sounds. Such acoustic signals include frequencies associated with other functions of the body useful in diagnosis, such as swallowing, breathing, and blood flow, and are outside the capabilities of traditional stethoscope devices.
Further, what is needed in the art is a system incorporating such a device. Such a system may incorporate the device to facilitate in the diagnosis of patients and/or other medical procedures carried out by medical professionals. Such a system would utilize the acoustic signals received by the device process the signals to assist in detection of, for example, disorders of the gut, the joints, the lungs, blood flow, or swallowing.